Ovechkin sinks resilient Panthers with hat trick
Alex Ovechkin scored two of his three goals over 56 seconds in the second period and the Washington Capitals beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Friday.
Ovechkin has 18 goals, most through 21 games in a season by a player in at least his 17th season. He’s 19 goals from passing ex-Panther Jaromir Jagr for third on the career list following his 28th hat trick. He is also on pace for his first 70-goal season.
Washington has won eight of 10 and ended Florida’s four-game winning streak. Ilya Samsonov stopped 19 shots for the Capitals.
Sergei Bobrovsky allowed Tom Wilson’s eighth goal, which tied it at 1 at 1:34 of the second, and Ovechkin’s first goal. Bobrovsky left after Ovechkin’s goal at 2:50 but returned after Ovechkin scored against Spencer Knight at 3:46.
Ovechkin’s third goal came at 4:02 in the third period.
Evgeny Kuzentsov had three assists for Washington.
The Panthers’ Sam Reinhart scored his fourth goal at 6:49 of the second, and Bobrovsky left again, and returned with 2:42 to play in the second.
Bobrovsky stopped 19 of 22 shots and Knight made six saves in seven chances.
Jonathan Huberdeau’s seventh goal gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead with 32 seconds to play in the first.
Carter Verhaeghe scored at 5:36 of the third to cut Washington’s lead to 4-3.
Notes: Panthers: F Anthony Duclair was a late scratch . ... F Alexsander Barkov missed his fourth straight game with a lower-body injury . ... Huberdeau has four goals in six games and scored in six straight games.
Up next: Panthers: Host Seattle Kraken on Saturday.